Higher Levels Of Positive Affect Research Articles

The role of social interaction modality for well-being in older adults.

It is well-established that more frequent social interaction is associated with higher well-being across the lifespan. The present study examines the role of frequency of interactions via different modalities on older adults' weekly well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic, where people had to adapt their communication behavior and reduce in-person contact due to precautionary measures. We use data from 98 participants (age: M = 71, SD = 5), who documented their weekly frequency of communication via four interaction modalities as well as their loneliness, positive affect, and negative affect over up to 64 weeks. Results show that participants with overall higher frequency of face-to-face, telephone, and text-based interaction than others report higher levels of positive affect and lower levels of negative affect and loneliness than others. Participants report higher levels of well-being during weeks when they report more frequent face-to-face, telephone, and text-based interaction than their individual average. Unexpectedly, participants report higher levels of negative affect during weeks with more video call interaction. Some effects of social interaction frequency on affect and loneliness are higher for face-to-face interactions versus other modalities. In addition, interaction effects at within-person level indicate that the effects of weekly telephone and text-based interaction frequency on loneliness are stronger in weeks with relatively few face-to-face interactions. Taken together, our findings suggest that social interactions via different modalities contribute to well-being, but that face-to-face interactions have the biggest effect. In addition, there is some evidence that telephone and text-based interaction may play a compensatory role. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

A reciprocal association between interpersonal relationship quality and student's positive affect: Athree-wave random intercept cross-lagged study in a Chinese primary mathematics learning context.

This study adopted a three-wave random intercept cross-lagged panel model to explore the longitudinal reciprocal relationships between (a) the teacher-student relationship (TSR) quality and (b) the parent-child relationship (PCR) quality and positive affect among Chinese primary school students. Two primary school student samples, including 3505 and 2505 students, were tracked with their perceived relationship quality with math teachers and parents and their positive affect levels in mathematics learning over three academic years. The results demonstrated that more closeness with parents could significantly predict students' subsequent higher level of positive affect in mathematics learning. However, more closeness with their math teachers did not show significant prediction. Meanwhile, more conflict with math teachers and parents could significantly predict their subsequent lower degree of perceived positive affect in mathematics learning. That is, a reciprocal association lines in the PCR quality and positive affect, whereas only a unidirectional association exists between the TSR and positive affect. The predictions of the experienced positive affect on their perceived interpersonal relationships with math teachers and parents were stronger than those in the reverse association. This study identifies that while the effects of closeness with math teachers and parents on positive affect in students' math learning differ, conflict with math teachers and parents indeed harms students' experienced positive affect in math learning. More attention should also be paid to fostering positive affect in math learning.

Within-family associations of parent-adolescent relationship quality and adolescent affective well-being.

Parent-adolescent relationship quality is theorized to be an important correlate of adolescent affective well-being. Little is known about the within-family processes underlying parent-adolescent relationship quality and affective well-being over a period of months. This three-wave, preregistered study examined within- and between-family associations between parent-adolescent relationship quality (support and conflict) and adolescent well-being (negative and positive affect). In addition, we examined whether the associations differed between mothers and fathers, and for adolescents' affective well-being in different social contexts (at home, at school, with peers). The sample consisted of 244 Dutch adolescents (61.5% girls; age range: 12-17 years; mean age = 13.8 years). Random-intercept cross-lagged panel modelswere used. At the between-family level, higher levels of support and lower levels of conflict were associated with higher levels of positive affect and lower levels of negative affect. At the within-family level, increases in support and decreases in conflict were concurrently associated with increases in positive affect and decreases in negative affect. More parent-adolescent conflict than typical also predicted increases in negative affect, 3 months later, and more negative affect and less positive affect than typical predicted increased conflict, 3 months later. These within-family effects were largely similar for fathers and mothers. Associations for conflict occurred through bidirectional processes: Parent-adolescent conflict shaped and was shaped by adolescents' emotions at home, at school, and with peers. Results suggest that parent-adolescent relationship quality (especially conflict) and adolescent affective well-being cofluctuate and predict each other over time within families.

Music-Evoked Autobiographical Memories are Associated with Negative Affect in Younger and Older Adults

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Music evokes strong and persistent emotional responses. However, the mechanisms underlying the emotional effects of music, particularly in older adults, are largely unknown. One purported mechanism by which music evokes emotions is through memory – that is, music evokes personal, autobiographical memories that then lead to emotional responses. METHOD Here, we investigated whether memory-evoking music induces stronger and longer-lasting emotional responses than non-memory-evoking music, and whether these emotional responses differ between younger and older adults. Older (N = 30) and younger adults (N =30) listened to two blocks of self-selected music (one block of memory-evoking music and one block of familiar but non-memory-evoking music). Participants reported their emotions prior to and at three timepoints post-listening. RESULTS Older adults reported higher levels of positive affect than younger adults. For both groups, positive affect increased after listening to both memory-evoking and non-memory-evoking music. However, negative affect only increased after listening to memory-evoking music. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that both memory-evoking and non-memory-evoking music generate strong emotions in younger and older adults, but music that conjures personal memories is more likely to elicit mixed emotions. Our results have important clinical implications when designing music-based interventions for mood and affect, particularly in older adult populations.

Resilience to Stress and Adversity: A Narrative Review of the Role of Positive Affect.

The modern conception of mental health encompasses not only mental illness but also mental wellbeing, including positive emotional states and other forms of positive experience. Accordingly, research on resilience - that is, recovery or adaptation following adversity - has recently expanded to consider the roles of positive affect in the resilience process. To review this research, we performed a keyword search of all peer-reviewed journals within the American Psychological Association's PsycInfo database, retrieving all studies of positive affect in the context of resilience. These studies measured positive affect either as the outcome of the resilience process or as a resilience resource in its own right. With positive affect as the outcome, the literature suggests that various resilience resources can promote positive affect following a stressor, especially positive personality traits (eg, hope, optimism, self-compassion) and supportive interpersonal connections. With positive affect as a resilience resource, the literature suggests that higher levels of positive affect may protect individuals from the impact of stress on a number of outcomes, such as depression and trauma symptoms. In all, the reviewed research showcases a wide range of stressors, resources, and outcomes, and there are numerous openings for future discoveries in this promising area of inquiry.

DAILY SUBJECTIVE NEARNESS TO DEATH AND AFFECTIVE DYNAMICS

Abstract A core tenet of Socioemotional Selectivity Theory is that perception of time remaining in life plays a key role in the selection and pursuit of emotion regulation goals. The current study examined this idea within a daily diary framework, where subjective perceptions of nearness to death were reported on consecutive days. Age differences in the within-person coupling between daily subjective reports of nearness to death and daily affective dynamics were tested. A 14-day daily diary study of 440 adults (M age = 65, range 50-85) in the U.S. was conducted where participants reported on their subjective nearness to death, positive affect, and negative affect each day. Multilevel models were conducted separately for positive and negative affect. Being older and feeling farther away from death on average were each associated with higher levels of positive affect. Daily negative affect was predicted by both within-person and between-person constructs. On days when people reported feeling subjectively closer to death than their own average, they also experienced an increase in negative affect. A significant interaction revealed that this effect was particularly strong among older adults (aged 65+). These results suggest that daily manifestations of perceptions of limited time remaining in life are salient for daily affective dynamics, and that this salience is particularly pronounced among older adults relative to those in midlife.

Effects of sports gambling on young fans’ attitudes and behaviors in Hong Kong

Sports gambling has become closely intertwined with sports. However, the effect of sports gambling on young adults have not been extensively investigated, even if it is expected that participating in sports gambling could influence young adults' attitudes and behaviors. Therefore, the purposes of the current study were a) to investigate the effects of sports gambling on young adults’ attitudes and behaviors and b) to evaluate the quality of life of young adults in Hong Kong. A total of 160 young adults (80 sports gamblers and 80 non-gamblers) in Hong Kong participated in the survey. The results of t-tests revealed the differences between sports gamblers and non-gamblers. Specifically, non-gamblers showed higher levels of sports fan identification, quality of life, BIRGing behaviors, prosocial behaviors, performance tolerance, and purchasing intention than sports gamblers, whereas sports gamblers had higher level of positive affect on sports spectating. Furthermore, the results of the multiple regressions indicated that sports fan identification and positive affect influenced non-gamblers’ purchasing intention, while only sports fan identification had an impact on sports gamblers’ purchasing intention. These results provided an empirical conformation of the effect of sports gambling on sports fan attitudes and behaviors, which contribute to our understanding of the destructive impact of sports gambling on sports fan experience.

Creative Self-Efficacy, Cognitive Reappraisal, Positive Affect, and Career Satisfaction: A Serial Mediation Model.

With a substantial body of research supporting the critical role of positive affect in improving work outcomes and enhancing career success, investigating the factors that facilitate emotion regulation strategies for fostering positive affect becomes an important research question. In this context, our study explores the association between strong creative self-efficacy and high cognitive reappraisal-an established and potent emotion regulation strategy known to increase positive affect. We propose a model wherein high levels of creative self-efficacy lead to a tendency for cognitive reappraisal, resulting in high levels of positive affect that ultimately contribute to greater career satisfaction. Our investigation, conducted with a sample of 550 adults in South Korea, examines the indirect relationship between creative self-efficacy and career satisfaction through cognitive reappraisal and, in turn, positive affect. Our findings reveal a positive association between creative self-efficacy and cognitive reappraisal. Moreover, a significant relationship is observed between creative self-efficacy and positive affect through the mediation of cognitive reappraisal. Importantly, the indirect effect of creative self-efficacy on career satisfaction is mediated through cognitive reappraisal and then positive affect. These findings not only expand our insight into the factors contributing to positive affect and career satisfaction but also underscore the valuable role of creative self-efficacy in career satisfaction.

Stress appraisal and emotion regulation mediate the association between mindfulness and affect in cancer patients: Differential mechanisms for positive and negative affect.

Cancer patients are at an increased risk for affective problems, including feelings of anxiety and depression. Mindfulness has been linked to an array of benefits for affective functioning in various populations including cancer patients, but the mechanisms underlying this relationship are still poorly understood. Based on emotion-regulation and stress-coping models, this study examined the potential mediating role of stress appraisal and coping strategies in the associations between mindfulness and cancer patients' positive and negative affect. For this cross-sectional study, 245 cancer patients completed self-report questionnaires measuring mindfulness (FFMQ), positive and negative affect (PANAS), stress appraisal (SPSI-R:S), coping through positive reappraisal and positive refocusing (CERQ), rumination (RRQ), and distraction (COPE). Serial mediation analyses were conducted using the regression-based bootstrapping method. Higher levels of mindfulness were associated with higher levels of positive affect; this relationship was mediated via stress appraisal and positive reappraisal. We also found an indirect effect from mindfulness directly via positive reappraisal to positive affect. In addition, higher levels of mindfulness were negatively associated with negative affect; this relationship was mediated via stress appraisal and rumination, with also an indirect effect from mindfulness directly via stress appraisal to negative affect. Results suggest that stress appraisal and distinct coping strategies mediate the relationship between mindfulness and affect. Mindfulness may provide benefits for cancer patients' affect by allowing adaptive stress appraisal and ways of coping through more positive and less negative thinking.

Growing old and being old: Emotional well-being across adulthood.

The present study examines change in reports of daily, weekly, and monthly psychological distress over 20 years, and of negative and positive affect over 10 years, using data from the Midlife in the United States study. The study includes three waves of data collection on adults ranging from 22 to 95 years old. Cross-sectional findings reveal that older age is related to lower levels of psychological distress and negative affect and to higher levels of positive affect across each successive age group. Yet, longitudinal findings vary across younger, middle-aged, and older adults. Psychological distress decreases over time among younger adults (although only until age 33 for weekly reports), remains stable in midlife, and is stable (monthly) or slightly increases (daily and weekly) among older adults. For negative affect, levels decrease over time for younger and middle-aged adults, and only increase for the oldest adults for daily and monthly affect. Positive affect is stable over time among younger adults, but decreases in midlife starting in the mid-fifties. In conclusion, overall patterns of findings suggest that being old (assessed cross-sectionally) is related to higher levels of emotional well-being. Growing old (assessed longitudinally) is related to improvements in emotional well-being across younger and early middle adulthood, which mirrors cross-sectional findings. There is relative stability in later midlife, however, and continued stability or slight declines across older age. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Smooth Talking and Fast Music: Understanding the Importance of Voice and Music in Travel and Tourism Ads via Acoustic Analytics

Travel and tourism advertising is critical in developing positive associations to attract visitor patronage and build sustainable post-pandemic tourism. An important part of an advertising message is delivered through voice and other aspects of audio, for example, music. However, how audio features impact viewers of travel and tourism advertisements remains unexplored in the research. This study implements advanced audio analytics to test how various features impact upon viewers. The results show that voice quality is important in developing positive affect; advertisement viewers prefer speakers with quieter voices (less mean intensity) that have a higher level of clarity (higher harmonics-to-noise ratio). This can be explained via the heuristic route of the heuristic-systematic model. Music tempo was found to be important in stimulating reactions from advertisements, with faster music being associated with a higher level of positive affect. The paper concludes with practical and theoretical implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research.

Love, health, and the 'hood: An examination of romantic relationship adjustment and perceived neighborhood quality as predictors of partnered Black Americans' long-term psychological health.

Existing disparities regarding Black Americans' psychological health warrant further investigation of socioecological factors that may be associated with negative and positive dimensions of psychological health in this population. Romantic relationship functioning and neighborhood context are two domains relevant to Black Americans' mental health. However, less is known about how they may serve as independent and interactive prospective predictors of Black Americans' psychological health and potentially in distinctive ways for Black men and women. Using data from 333 partnered Black Americans who participated in the Midlife in the United States study, we investigated relationship adjustment and neighborhood quality as independent and interactive predictors of negative and positive affect 10 years later and examined gender differences in these linkages. Higher neighborhood quality predicted lower levels of negative affect and higher levels of positive affect for both men and women a decade later. Additionally, for Black men, the longitudinal association between relationship adjustment and negative affect differed by neighborhood quality such that better relationship adjustment predicted higher subsequent negative affect only for men in lower quality neighborhoods. Findings demonstrate the connections among romantic relationship functioning, ecological resources, and gender in this population and highlight the importance of incorporating socioecological and intersectional perspectives for predicting Black Americans' long-term psychological health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The glass half-full or half-empty: a within-subject comparison of solution-focused versus problem-focused client descriptions on therapist emotions and hope for treatment.

Intake assessments vary in their focus on strengths and solutions compared with problems. They provide therapists with first impressions of their clients. Research shows that first impressions may have strong and lasting effects. To compare how solution- versus problem-focused case descriptions influence therapists' emotions and initial expectations for successfully working with a client. Vignettes describing clients were manipulated to focus either on solutions and strengths, or on problems. In a within-subject experimental design, 33 (Sample 1) and 29 (Sample 2) trainee therapists each read four case descriptions (two solution-focused and two problem-focused vignettes; order fully counterbalanced). After each vignette, participants rated their affect and expectations for successfully working with the client. In both samples, solution-focused vignettes were associated with significantly higher levels of positive affect and positive expectations for treatment, and with significantly lower levels of negative affect, compared with problem-focused vignettes. Effect size differences between conditions were generally large (Cohen's d between .63 and 1.22). Focusing on clients' goals, their strengths, and actively highlighting better moments and areas of problem-free functioning may increase therapists' positive emotions and their hope for clients' successful treatment. A next step is to examine the degree to which these positive short-term effects are, in turn, predictive of better clinical outcomes in therapy. Future research could additionally examine whether supporting therapists to frame clients' initial assessments in solution-focused ways may be one way to contribute to workforce well-being.

Transformational Leadership Climate Creating Positive Feelings and Improving Performance During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of transformational leadership in creating positive feelings and improving performance During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the context of a state owlogisticsic company. The data for this study was collected from a sample of employees working in various organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study employed a survey research method, and a self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. A total of 500 responses were collected from the participants, who were selected using convenience sampling. The result of structural equation modeling found that a transformational leadership climate positively affects employees' feelings and performance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the study found that employees who perceived their leaders as transformational experienced higher levels of positive affect and were more motivated to perform their duties during the pandemic. Additionally, the study found that employees who perceived their leaders as transformational exhibited higher levels of job satisfaction and organizational commitment during the pandemic. These findings highlight the importance of transformational leadership in creating a positive work environment during the pandemic, which is crucial for employee well-being and performance.

The Nontheistic Sacred: The Psychological Functions of Metal Music and Artifacts

ABSTRACT The psychological functions of the nontheistic sacred in a secular context (metal music culture) were examined for their consistency with previous studies of the sacred in religious contexts using two studies. The first experiment examined music as a form of nontheistic sacred through a comparison of death metal fans (n = 89) listening to death metal or hard rock. The second experiment examined how some metal cultural artifacts were perceived as sacred by metal fans (n = 52), and how their loss or defilement was experienced when compared to non-sacred artifacts. The first experiment found that the death metal music was perceived as more sacred than hard rock music to the metal community, it promoted higher levels of positive affect, and it was associated with significantly higher levels of prosocial behavioral intentions, social relatedness, mood maintenance, and self-awareness, with no differences in empathy and negative affect. The second experiment found that acts of desecration of sacred items, when compared to non-sacred items, led to a higher state of anger and the loss of the items led to significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms and anxiety. The two experiments present evidence that the nontheistic sacred is experienced within the secular context of metal music in terms of functions and effects consistent with previous literature exploring the sacred in religious contexts.

Minimizing the Vicious Circle of Pain–Anxiety–Avoidance: The Role of Positive Affect in Endodontic Therapy

Patients with a high level of anxiety anticipate extremely intense pain during dental treatment and frequently avoid visiting dentists, showing a tendency to become caught in a vicious circle of pain–anxiety–avoidance. This research aimed to examine whether dental anxiety mediates the impact of pain anticipation before endodontic treatment in the subjective avoidance of future treatments as a function of positive affect (moderating variable). One hundred consecutive patients that required endodontic therapy were enrolled in this study. In this prospective observational study, patients had to fill out a questionnaire twice: (a) first, prior to treatment (a baseline measurement including pain anticipation, MDAS (dental anxiety), PANAS (positive affect), ASA-PS (physical health), previous medication, an assessment form, and pulpal/periapical status); (b) second, once treatment had ended, the patients were registered for subjective avoidance and their number of canals of treated teeth. The results showed a significant correlation between pain anticipation, dental anxiety, and subjective avoidance; furthermore, the index of the association between pain anticipation and dental anxiety was diminished at higher levels of positive affect. In conclusion, there does not seem to be a direct and deterministic association between pain anticipation, dental anxiety, and subjective avoidance, but rather this relationship would depend on the possible influence of the personality variables of the patients.

Dialogues between Distanced and Suffering I-Positions: Emotional Consequences and Self-Compassion

The aim of the study was to investigate the role of temporal dialogues and self-compassion in coping with emotions connected to difficult past situations. In this study, we used the dialogical chair procedure, where we asked participants to narrate a difficult, past negative experience by moving from “here and now” to that time and place (Suffering-I/past-I), and to narrate the same past event from a current perspective (Distanced-I/current-I). Additionally, fifty seven participants completed three measures: The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS); the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS); and the rating scales for functions of dialogue (criticism, support, instruction, and evaluation). The study showed that self-compassion predicts lower negative affect after an internal dialogue about difficult past events, but this effect is not mediated by functions of dialogue. On the other hand, dialogue functions are associated with higher levels of positive affect after dialogue, while self-compassion does not appear to be significant here.

An ecological momentary assessment study to examine covariates and effects of concurrent and simultaneous use of electronic cigarettes and marijuana among college students

IntroductionThe prevalence of concurrent and simultaneous use of e-cigarette and marijuana among college students is high. Yet, the literature was mainly based on cross-sectional surveys with emphasis on the smoking route. This is the first ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study that examined the vaping route of nicotine-marijuana co-use and the associated short-term psychological effects. MethodsThis study recruited 686 college student e-cigarette users to participate in an on-line survey and 7-day EMA. Frequent marijuana users (247) – using marijuana weekly or daily – were compared with infrequent/non-users (439) on academic performance, e-cigarette use patterns, and dependence and respiratory symptoms. EMA data from the frequent users were used to study the association between marijuana vaping and e-cigarette consumption and the short-term psychological effects of e-cigarette and marijuana use. ResultsThe results show that e-cigarette users who frequently used marijuana tended to have lower academic performance, be involved in higher-risk use patterns, and have higher levels of e-cigarette dependence, marijuana problems, and respiratory symptoms, compared to infrequent/non-users. Marijuana vaping was associated with a higher level of e-cigarette consumption. E-cigarette use and marijuana use were both associated with higher levels of positive affect, physiological sensation, and craving for e-cigarettes. While marijuana use was linked to a lower level of negative affect, e-cigarette use did not have a significant effect. Further, none of the interaction effects between e-cigarette and marijuana use on psychological states were significant. ConclusionsThe results showed additive effects of e-cigarette and marijuana use although the hypothesized synergistic effects were not supported.

Difference in well-being between handball players and ones not physically active

Subjective well-being is a good indicator of the individual's psychological health. High levels of subjective well-being have been found in adolescents who are regularly physically active, less prone to negative emotions, more easily able to cope with life's problems and challenges, have a lower body mass index, and exhibit higher levels of life satisfaction. The participants in this research were adolescents from the Republic of Croatia, N = 756, of which 407 (53.8%) were handball players and 349 (46.2%) were adolescents from the control group not physically active. The research was conducted in elementary schools and handball clubs with adolescents in 2006 and 2007. Instruments used in this research are Life Satisfaction Scale and PANAS. Adolescent handball players are more satisfied with life, they express higher levels of positive affect and lower levels of negative affect compared to adolescents who are not involved in some form of kinesiology activities.

Mother-child neural synchronization is time linked to mother-child positive affective state matching.

In the first years of life, in which self-regulation occurs via external means, mother-child synchronization of positive affect (PA) facilitates regulation of child homeostatic systems. Mother-child affective synchrony may contribute to mother-child synchronization of neural systems, but limited research has explored this possibility. Participants were 41 healthy mother-child dyads (56% girls; Mage = 24.76 months; s.d. = 8.77 months, Range = 10-42 months). Mothers' and children's brain activities were assessed simultaneously using near-infrared spectroscopy while engaging in dyadic play. Mother and child PA during play were coded separately to characterize periods in which mothers and children (i) matched on high PA, (ii) matched on low/no PA or (iii) showed a mismatch in PA. Models evaluated moment-to-moment correlations between affective matching and neural synchrony in mother-child dyads. Greater positive affective synchrony, in which mother and child showed similarly high levels of PA but not similarly low levels of PA, was related to greater synchrony in medial and lateral frontal and temporoparietal regions. Age moderated associations between mother and child neural activities but only during moments of high PA state matching. Positive, synchronous mother-child interactions may foster greater neural responding in affective and social regions important for self-regulation and interpersonal bonds.